Robot 6

Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news

• The six remaining Virgin Megastores in the United States will close by the end of the summer. As previously reported, the flagship store in Manhattan will be shuttered next month. The first Virgin Megastore opened in the U.S. in 1992; at its peak, the chain operated 23 stores across the country.

• The Bookseller reports that Random House is looking to sell or close its weekly U.K. comic anthology The DFC. Launched in May 2008 by the David Ficking Books imprint, The DFC has featured work by Phillip Pullman, Nick Abadzis, James Stewart, Jamie Smart and Emma Vieceli, among others.

• In her column for PW Comics Week, SLG Publishing Editor-in-Chief Jennifer de Guzman describes last weekend’s WonderCon as “a bright slant of reality-defining sunshine”: “Such as the fact that people were buying—and not just our discount dollar bags (though they did buy those), and not just our perpetual bestsellers (though they did buy those, too).”

She says sales were still down 15 percent from last year, “but considering the state of the economy (particularly in California, where our employment rate is now 10.1%), I was seriously surprised.”

Douglas Wolk has a broader overview of the convention, which organizers estimate may have drawn more than 29,000 people.

• The Japan Times reports that the global recession, outsourcing and piracy have combined to put the future of the anime industry in doubt. “The global fan base for Japanese ‘anime’ is increasing, but with the old business model crumbling it isn’t translating into profits,” says Yasuo Yamaguchi, executive director of the Association of Japanese Animations.